Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield (5) has a shot blocked by forward Derrick Walker (15) during basketball practice at Pratt Pavilion on the University of Tennessee's campus on Thursday, October 4, 2018. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield (5) attempts a shot during basketball practice at Pratt Pavilion on the University of Tennessee's campus on Thursday, October 4, 2018. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Tennessee guard Jalen Johnson (13) passes the ball to a teammate during basketball practice at Pratt Pavilion on the University of Tennessee's campus on Thursday, October 4, 2018. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Grant Williams understands why Tennessee basketball is considered one of the top teams in the nation this season.

The junior forward sees from the inside what anyone on the outside can see and explained the buzz simply: The Vols return almost their entire roster from last season’s co-SEC championship team that won 26 games. Consequently, the expectations have changed – a team picked 13th in the SEC a year ago is mentioned among the top 10 teams in the country.

But as much as the expectations have changed, nothing has changed for Tennessee

“It’s about us,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said. “It’s about us getting better today and not worrying about it. We didn’t worry about it when we were picked 13th. We have to go about our business and just get better. …

“They know how hard it is to win at this level. I think that they have gone about just worrying about what we can do today to get better.”

Worrying about each day and getting better is what Barnes is preaching to his players, who started preseason practice Sept. 26 with a new level of outside expectations and the same approach inside after a surprise season last year.

Last year, the Vols found a way to improve regularly from the spring until the end of the season. That was the goal then, and it remains so. There’s no talk inside Pratt Pavilion about winning the SEC or winning a national title, said Barnes – the fourth-year UT coach who won’t let his players relax after a breakthrough season.

There’s talk about a new season, starting 0-0 and pressing the reset button – which the Vols did less than two weeks after last season ended in a dramatic second-round NCAA tournament loss to Loyola-Chicago.

However, there’s no talk about outside expectations from Barnes to the Vols, whose “expectations are much bigger on the inside.”

“In terms of the outside expectations, if they’re hearing it, I can tell you that they’re hearing a whole different story in practice,” Barnes said. “It’s the same story that we talked about four years ago. It’s about us getting better, and that’s where we’ll keep it.”

Barnes’ first three years at Tennessee were different than this; this is the first with any real preseason pressure. The Vols had middling seasons in Barnes’ first two years in Knoxville, then found success in 2017-18 to put a target on their back.

Barnes was named SEC Coach of the Year. Williams was SEC Player of the Year, forward Admiral Schofield was All-SEC second-team and guard Lamonte Turner was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year.

All are back for the 2018-19 season, as 11 of 13 scholarship players return. Guard James Daniel III graduated, and guard Chris Darrington transferred to Toledo. UT added four-star forward D.J. Burns, who reclassified to arrive at college a year earlier than originally planned.

In a matter of months, the Vols went from young national surprise to a veteran group with winning experience.

“We can’t be relaxed,” junior guard Jordan Bowden said. “Coach Barnes tells us that all the time – that we can’t be complacent. You have to take it up another notch. That’s one thing we are getting better at this year. The things we did last year, it doesn’t matter now.”

Tennessee has an exhibition against Tusculum on Oct. 31 and its regular-season opener on Nov. 6 against Lenoir-Rhyne.

The Vols will have a low number next to their name at that point – likely somewhere between a five and a 10 – and that ranking will bring new challenges. They experienced them in part last year after a hot start landed UT among the nation’s Top 25 teams in December.

But just as Barnes’ message remained the same then, it remains the same now.

“With excitement around the program right now, I’m really happy for our guys because I know they worked hard,” Barnes said. “But that excitement alone won’t get done what we need to get done. It’s going to continue to take hard work; it’s going to take commitment; and it’s going to take focus.

“It’s going to take putting some things aside for a couple months here and staying totally focused on what we need to do every single day.”